


colored gems and ocean breeze

by ensemblegays



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Trans Character, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Multi, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, mermaid au, mnmn soft, slowburn???, the others are just mentionned - Freeform, transmasc ibara...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:27:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27552301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ensemblegays/pseuds/ensemblegays
Summary: Arashi and Ibara have always followed the same routine; get up, get ready, go to the beach, work, come back, eat, sleep. Some things, or rather some people, mess up their daily activities. A horrible curse, or a meeting by fate?
Relationships: Ayase Mayoi & Ran Nagisa, Ayase Mayoi/Narukami Arashi, Hakaze Kaoru/Sakuma Rei (mentionned), Ran Nagisa/Saegusa Ibara, Saegusa Ibara & Narukami Arashi
Kudos: 5





	colored gems and ocean breeze

**Author's Note:**

> i love them... so much.....

The duo’s mornings were always the same; waking up before the warm sunrise despite wanting to sleep in oh so badly, getting dressed, eating a little bit for breakfast, and immediately getting out to go to the beach to watch the reflection of the rising star on the clear, turquoise water. The breeze was soft, not cold or hot, just comfortable, bringing in salty air into their lungs. It felt good in a way. For them, it’s like they’re restarting their life over every morning, leaving all their worries from the day prior behind them and advancing onto their path. 

Arashi, as optimistic as she can be, dove into the water first, bringing her surfboard along with her. Ibara, following her with a sigh, froze momentarily when his feet first touched the water but continued on. He knew he would get used to the cold, but his muscles still trembled for a few minutes. Both of them hopped onto their boards, borrowed from Kaoru’s shop not too far from their shared house, ready to go against the morning currents the sea would usually bring. 

Being in the water together was therapeutic to them. They didn’t need to talk any more than they usually do. Simply notice the other if there’s something strange in the water, or when it’s time to get ready for work. They would sit in silence, side by side, watching the sun rise slowly from the bright vermillion horizon. Everyday was like this, and they never got bored of any sight they saw on the daily.

Ibara gasped quietly when something weirdly soft and silky brushed against his ankle. As unlikely as it might’ve been, decided not to care much about it. It might’ve been some kind of algae or just a little fishie passing by a little too close. Arashi, for her case, also felt a little tingling sensation as something light and fragile touched her bare leg, halfway into the water. She immediately looked down to see what it was, and only a small bit of purple was out in the open for her to observe. 

“Iba-chan, did you happen to have something brush around your leg too? I just felt it and there’s something purple under my board…” her voice grew anxious as she finished her sentence, her eyes slightly frightened. 

“I would tell you to fear not and simply carry on, but something did in fact touch my leg as well. Should we try to check underwater?” he asked, trying to calm his friend down as much as he could. Fear is the worst against actual danger, and both of them needed to be as relaxed as they could. “If you want, I’ll go first. It is a man’s responsibility to protect their friend, right?” he asked, genuinely wanting to make sure she was safe. 

Both of them knew that question had a second sense. Ibara wasn’t born a male, so of course there were things he didn’t know, or wasn’t aware of at first. Arashi helped him as much as she could, as well as with the help of the twins, the Sakuma brothers, and Kaoru himself. All of them were good friends, and they all accepted both Arashi and Ibara as what they really were. In this particular situation, Ibara never wanted to go underwater by himself. His binder was already tight when he was above the surface, and he rarely went in the water with it. Though today was an emergency, he had to. 

His glasses were already on the beach table, so he directly dove into the blue ocean, magenta hair flowing around his face along little air bubbles created from the splash. He stayed close to Arashi and his board in case there was something they needed to get away from, some kind of danger they had never met before. 

After opening his eyes and clearing his sight from shoulder-length hair and long bangs, the only thing he could see were two things, ― or two people ―, though they weren’t people. Not in his definition of people, actually. One had long, flowy and majestic white hair somehow tied in a half-up half-down ponytail, and some kind of.. Fish tail? It was beautiful and had the same color as its owner’s eyes; a beautiful amber, golden orange that reflected the morning sky he and Arashi always came to watch. The other had shorter hair, deep purple like dark amethysts, kept together in a messy side braid, and a fish tail the color of the sky during the middle of a sunny summer day, a blue so pure it was as if the entire sea reflected into them. Both fish-people’s eyes widened once they noticed Ibara staring at them and immediately swam away, dropping a little box behind them. The boy quickly went back to the surface, needing to tell his friend what he just witnessed. 

“F-fish people. Two of them. Fish tail, but human bodies from the waist up. Absolutely stunning, the most beautiful beings I’ve ever seen,” he rambled, not able to make his sentences as clear as he usually did. That did it for his friend, she knew it was a real thing that really affected Ibara. 

“Okay okay, calm down. Did they have anything special about them? Other than their beauty and fish tails,” she replied, giving Ibara her hand to help him get back on his board. 

“One of them, I think it was the oldest. He was definitely taller, with longer hair and broader shoulders. He dropped something in the sand, over there,” he explained, ignoring the girl’s hand and immediately diving back in the water to get what the merman dropped. 

When they got out of the water, they immediately called their boss to take a day off. 

\--

They directly went into their house to wash off and investigate what the hell happened. Arashi opened the box to find two separate necklaces with tiny, unpolished but soft gems as charms. One was blue like the sky, and the other was purple like a galaxy. She connected the dots and immediately thought those two mermen had brought something for her and Ibara; the jewels matched their eye color. In the box also came a little seashell, tiny but absolutely stunning, something no one else would ever be able to find on the beach, and a cute, reddish rock from a sea volcano, possibly. Both would be impossible to acquire without proper equipment, and she didn’t know anyone in her town that could have that kind of material.

“Iba-chan…? I think those necklaces are for us,” she finally spoke up, immediately putting hers on. She would never say no to free, handmade jewelry! She handed in Ibara’s gem necklace, smiling softly at her own charm. 

“Why would some mermen, whom we have never met or seen before, give us those kinds of things? I mean, a real lapis pearl and an amethyst? Those are so rare and valuable!” he exclaimed in confusion, but putting his on without any question. 

“I think I’ll go back to the beach to check it out. Maybe those necklaces have something to them that we don’t know about just yet. It’s possibly not a coincidence, after all, they didn’t try to hurt us or anything,” she noted, holding her chin in her hand in a thought. 

“Alright.. I’ll come with you, but I won’t get into the water. I’ll stay on the beach, but if you feel one single doubt about what happens, call me right away! I’ll come help you!” he formally said, with his usual tone. Arashi smiled at him, he was slowly going back to his normal self. 

\---

5 minutes into the water, and Arashi could already feel someone come closer to her. She immediately went underwater to check it out. Her eyes opened while her necklace flowed around in the water, amethysts finally noticing other blue jewels looking at her, framed by purple, soft hair. She called out to them, whoever they were, and they slowly approached her. The other, the white-haired one that Ibara described, was currently nowhere to be found, but she knew he wouldn’t be too far away from his friend. 

“What are you?” she asked, her voice being louder than what she expected. 

No response from the merman, but he was close enough to touch her, and that’s when she noticed what Ibara was talking about when he noted their beauty: his skin was perfect, no pimples, no nothing, it was almost silky soft. His hair looked magnificent, fragile strands going in all directions but in an order that’s almost physically impossible. His eyes were vulnerable and kind, and she immediately relaxed when the other opened his mouth to speak.

“I… I just think you’re… r-really pretty…” he said shyly, looking away rapidly. 

In awe, Arashi stood there, dumbfounded. What??

Though what really caught her off-guard, was his gentle touch on her shoulder and chin as he swam a little bit closer, closer and closer until their lips touched. Soft, kind and vulnerable lips touched her slightly chapped but well kept ones, each other melting into the kiss. She didn’t know why she kissed back, but the overwhelming surprise and adrenaline took over. She put her hand on the back of the boy’s head and her other one on his cheek, while he wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly bringing her back up to the surface for air. They separated reluctantly, breathing out deeply. 

Arashi immediately stepped back, confused, but her eyes softened like butter. The other boy was quick to try to swim away, but she was somehow faster and got to hold his arm for a second, just for one last touch before he went away for good.

“What’s your name?!” she called out from afar, tears slowly getting into her eyes.

“M-mayoi..!” he replied loud enough for her to hear, and dove back down into the abyss of the deep sea. 

“Mayoi, huh..? Cute..” she murmured and smiled to herself, melting back into the water as tears fell down her cheeks. She didn’t know why she was crying, it felt like she had met the one that was missing all her life. She was complete when they kissed, she only wanted his arm around his waist again, his soft lips on hers just for another minute. 

\-- 

Ibara had spent his time on the beach reading a book, sitting down on the warm sand and letting the water wave around his toes up until a familiar body came up close by. He immediately recognized the messy and long, white angelic hair and amber eyes he had seen that very morning. 

“What are you?” he asked, dropping his book on the blanket he had laid down close to him and stepping up to meet with the strange boy staring at him from afar. 

He was now halfway into the water, making sure his binder didn’t get wet this time; it would’ve been horrible for him and his self care mentality. The merman sat down close, looking at Ibara with gentle, curious and mesmerizing golden eyes, a soft smile making its way onto his lips. 

“I might be different than you.. I do believe i’m different from my own kind..” he looked at the horizon, a softened look now plastered on his face, “but you seem familiar to me. I wanted to get closer without alerting you or your friend, I’m truly sorry if we scared you..” he looked down, now looking a bit saddened. 

“Worry not, we were fine when we came back home! You had dropped a box when you swam away.. Was it for us?” Ibara asked, wanting to make sure it wasn’t a huge mistake.

“It was for you… and your friend.. Me and my companion made them by hand from the best stones we could find around.. I hope you like them..” The boy finally looked up to Ibara, hand close to his, already brushing against each other. 

“I have to go back now. I don’t know when we’ll be able to meet again, but please, do not forget about me..” he smiled as he swam away, looking back at the magenta haired boy with teary eyes. “Call me Nagisa, please.” he finally said before going away, back at his home.

“Nagisa..? He’s too beautiful to be called by his name… he must be some kind of royalty… Your excellency, hmm..” he whispered to himself, fists clenching themselves involuntarily. 

There was so much more he wanted to ask, so much more he needed to know, and he might never be able to see him again. He felt safe, at home when Nagisa talked, he felt okay for once. Not a kind of okay he would be around his childhood friend Arashi, no, more like an ‘okay’ that could only be conveyed by a loved one, or a lover. 

He and Arashi cried, one out in the sea and the other at the beach, secretly hoping to see their newly found soulmates once again.


End file.
